2/26/15

CATEGORIES: ROY ROGERS and DALE EVANS, Buckaroo and Buckarette


Sepia Saturday's theme this week is parades. The theme image is Russians marching. What can we say about Russia? They continue to choose megalomaniacs as their leaders. What is in the psyche of the Russian people that makes them constantly yearn for leaders that cross the line between right and wrong? It's a wonder.

I have parade photos to share, but they're of a man who stood for what was right and wore the white hat to prove it.



Roy Rogers and Dale Evans were of huge importance in my life as a child. I still have good thoughts when I think of them. I recently discovered an obscure tv channel that shows old episodes of the Roy Rogers Show. I can easily sit down and get lost in one of the shows, mostly astounded by how really bad the acting and writing was. As a kid I never noticed any of that. All of the kids in the neighborhood would watch the show and soon be outside reenacting it around our houses; for that reason alone the show was of value. You watched the show and then ran outside. These days too many kids stay inside and stare at screens nonstop. I think we're going to have a lot of very awkward adults in the future who never really learned to socialize.


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These two photos were taken at the Rose Parade in 1947, thirty years after the theme photo was taken. Roy, Dale, Trigger, and Buttermilk…can't get any better than that.


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These photos are NOT in Buckaroos and Buckarettes.


Available at Amazon 

2/25/15

CATEGORY: The Quiet Art of READING


This photo measures a tiny 2" x 1-3/8" and cost 25 cents. I found it in a bin that had probably over a thousand old snapshots. At first I tossed it as quickly as I tossed 99% of what I saw. But then something registered and I thought, "Wait, someone was reading in the shot." By then I'd already covered it with many other shots and had to meticulously sort back through the mess. Even when I found it I wasn't sure. The lighting in the store was not conducive to seeing minute details. My eyes were tired and dry and I just wasn't sure. But seriously, I figured for 25 cents it was worth it just to get it home and scan it. The reason it's so small is that it is a contact sheet of a negative, thus the reason you see the film sprockets.



Photos of people reading is a category that isn't easy to find. Sure, if you shop on ebay a lot of images will show up, but in the world of stores/flea markets, etc. the category of reading shots are very rare.



This photo is not in my book, The Quiet Art of Reading.
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2/20/15

CATEGORY: The itinerant photographer


I've posted these walking down the street shots before (here and here). Most I find are boring, and there is certainly nothing exceptional about this one. What I do like is that the subjects were ignoring the photographer, but the woman behind them is all smiles. Was the woman behind hoping her photo was taken? I imagine the photographer missed her since he was probably too busy handing his card to this mother and daughter (or sisters).


Click on image to see it larger.
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2/19/15

CATEGORIES: Picnics


While so much of this country is in subzero temperatures, we have picnic weather. And actually, I'm sad to even say that. So far winter has mostly missed us and that's not a good thing. A few rain storms have made me feel a little bit better about my well, but I know that the drought has been here for years and will probably remain for many more.

But hey, it's nice outside each day. Picnic weather!



Picnics is actually a category in one of my books, Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon. The idea behind the category is the sharing of food on special and not so special occasions. This photo, recently purchased for 25 cents, is not in the book.
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2/16/15

CATEGORIES: Cutting the cake


Cutting cakes has been a category I've been fond of for years. The usual shot is of a young bride and groom cutting their wedding cake. I rarely buy those because they all start to look like the "pose for grandma" shots. But anniversary cakes, which is what I imagine this to be, hold my interest because of the age of the couples. And even if this is actually a wedding shot, the story is far more interesting than young love.


Click on image to see it larger.

Cake cutting is actually a category in one of my books, Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon. The idea behind the category is the sharing of food on special and not so special occasions. This photo, recently purchased for 25 cents, is not in the book.
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2/15/15

CATEGORIES: The over the shoulder shot in the kitchen


The next few days will be category shots, categories I have decided to collect no matter how bad the shots.

Today we have the woman in a kitchen looking over her shoulder at the photographer category which I purchased for 25 cents. Not an easy category to find, but the shots are out there. I tell you there's a gold mine waiting to be found!


Click on image to see it larger.

Lest you think I am not serious about this being a category, take a look at this older post.
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2/12/15

The FERRY FROM WHERE? Oakland!


This photo also comes from Donald Schnabel's family album. No notes, so I have no idea where this was taken. Any ideas?


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UPDATE: Thanks to Intense Guy I can now say that this is the old Key Route Pier in Oakland, California. You can read about it here.
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2/11/15

From the COTTAGE GALLERY


This small photo is from Donald G. Schnabel's family album. Most of the photos are from Ohio, mainly Lima. I have no information about the subjects of this shot. Mother and daughter? Sisters? We'll never know.

The photographers were the Van De Grift Brothers and their studio was called the Cottage Gallery. I have not found any information about the brothers other than one was named Hume and they were from Lima, Ohio. That's it. Dead end. Perhaps someone else will have some information.


Click on image to see it larger.

UPDATE: Thank you Mike!
In 1897 W.K. Van de Grift was a secretary of a photographers association with address in Lima. From 1903 or so he was 45 miles south in Piqua, OH where he sold his studio in 1912 due to ill health. There was also another photographer in Ft. Wayne in the 1910-20s who might be the brother. 
UPDATE: Thank you Intense Guy!
The entire Van De Grift family were photographers.
Father Cyrus W/H Van De Grift (b. 1834) apparently owned the "Cottage Gallery" and may have moved it to Chillicothe, Missouri in 1891.
Sons, Harry (b. 1864), William K (b. 1869-70), and Robert (b. 1877) were all photographers in Ohio. 
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2/3/15

Betty POOLSIDE


I have to admit that I do wonder how Betty would react to photos of her being posted online. I'm guessing she wouldn't have liked it. I know very little about her, but I did hear one of her neighbors talking about her at the estate sale. I sometimes think I should drive back to the neighborhood and talk to the neighbors in order to try and put together a more complete story of who Betty Schnabel was.


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BETTY with Mary Shiro


Betty joined her father for the trip to Spring Lake, Vermont in August of 1956. She would have been around thirty-one when this shot was taken. She looks like a teenager.


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2/2/15

CHARLES SHIRO with son?


Another couple slides from Spring Lake, Vermont in August of 1956. Yesterday I featured Mary and Charles Shiro. Today we have Charles with a child. His son? Probably, but there's nothing written on either of the slides below to indicate who these kids are.




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2/1/15

Mary and Charles Shiro at SPRING LAKE, VERMONT


In August of 1956 Betty Schanbel and her father, Donald G. Schnabel, visited Spring Lake in Vermont. So far I haven't found anything about a place called Spring Lake. I'm guessing it was some sort of a resort and may not exist anymore.

This couple, friends of Betty and Donald, are Mary and Charles Shiro. That's all I know about them.




Click on images to see them larger.
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